Shichiku

Shichiku is a rare variety of bamboo with a faint purple-brown culm, used for high-end ceremonial chasen. Stiffer than white bamboo (susudake), often longer-lasting than black bamboo (kurodake), and almost never seen outside specialty Japanese tea retailers. A shichiku chasen runs $80 to $150 and is a collector's choice — for daily home matcha, it's overkill.